Yardmen renovations nearly done

BELLEVILLE – With little more than a month left before the Belleville Senators play their first home game, renovations on the Yardmen Arena are coming to a close.

The puck will drop on Nov. 1 when the Belleville Senators play the Syracuse Crunch.

As of Sept. 22, Mark Fluhrer, director of the renovation project says the “Yardmen Arena expansion and renovation project is on time and on budget,” and said the final days will be hectic because they are working on the finishing touches of the Yardmen.

“Many local suppliers and companies are working on and/or supplying goods and services for this project,” says Peter Lyng, the project manager.

On average, there are over 110 workers on the site per day and over 17 trades on site and many contractors and workers have worked weekends. Lyng says many tradespeople have been working 7 days per week in order to complete the project on time.

Some of the completed tasks are the new rink, an elevator shaft up to the third floor, site servicing, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning duct work in the west wing, according to the project update.

Out of 33 tasks in total, 14 are complete. The work left to be done includes a security system upgrade, concrete walks and elevator installation. The electrical and mechanical work, drywall, and metal doors and frames and six other things are nearly done.

By Oct. 23, some of the work expected to be done is lines and logos in the ice, the clock and sound system ready for tests, all exterior lighting done, and boards, glass and netting installed.

The Sens open their season with nine straight games on the road starting Oct. 6 in Laval.